How to select a golf club?

How to select the right golf clubs? – the all-important question for a beginner.

For the absolute beginner, golf can be the most intimidating game on the planet. Not only because of how hard it is to play the game. In golf, the variety of equipment and understanding their purpose is almost as hard. Luckily, we like keeping things as simple as possible so we’re going over every aspect of golf clubs that you’ll ever need to know.

The first thing to know about golf is, you’ll be required to shoot the golf ball to different distances. Sometimes the distance your ball needs to cover can be very short, sometimes it can scan the whole course. Now the fun part is that there is a different golf club for each of the types of shot you need to make. Each club design comes with a different loft to raise the ball in the air at different levels. A golf set comes with a range of different clubs and they are usually numbered. The clubs that have lower numbers on them hit the ball farther and are designed for long-distance shots. There are four basic types of clubs and most other clubs are a combination of these: Woods, Irons, Wedges and Putters.

Woods

At some point in history these clubs were made of wood and so they got their name. Woods are used to make the longest shots, if used properly a shot from Woods can easily cover 200 to 350 yards. With a large and rounded head for lesser loft and flat bottom that easily glides over the grass, the better the Woods the lower its loft will be, making it easier to swing and add force. For example, the 1-Wood otherwise known as driver, is the least lofted among Woods and can send the ball farthest over the course. Fairway woods are more lofted and are used to hit the ball when… you guessed it: you’re at the tee or fairway.

Nowadays, woods are not made of wood but metal. Manufacturers are always tinkering with the composition of the metals in the wood: steel, titanium, other alloys to achieve greater/lesser loft.

Irons

Irons are the next set and like woods are actually made of metals today. Used to make mid-range shots, under 200 yards, Irons have more loft than the woods and are numbered from 1-9, with 9-Iron having the highest loft (just like 1-Wood had the least loft). Irons numbered 1-3 are known as long irons, as they have little loft and can be used to make long shots. 4-6 are middle range irons, to be used when the shot is between 150-170 yards. The short irons are 7 through 9 as they get the ball in the air quickly due to maximum loft.

Wedges

The wedges serve one purpose: make the ball go really high in the air before it lands. That means wedges are clubs with maximum loft. The loft range can vary from 46-64, with 64 being the maximum loft and that means the ball will go really, really high into the air. Now there are four types of wedges: a pitching wedge, a sand wedge, a gap wedge and a lob wedge. A pitching wedge is for shots within ranging from 130 yards to the whole course, sand wedge helps avoid tall grass or unevenness of surface, gap wedge is for shots within a range of 110 degrees and a lob wedge covers lesser distance but makes the ball rise even higher than any of the other wedges.

Putters

Now this is probably the one golf term you’re familiar with and that’s because putters are the most-used clubs from the set as they perform the trickiest part of the game: making the ball roll smoothly into the hole. As you can imagine, these are for real close shots and don’t make the ball rise up in the air. The heads of the putters are usually flat to stabilize the ball and a standard putter size would be ranging from 34-35 inches in height. Players have the option of getting taller putters, to get a better stroke if the standard putter feels off.

Now mostly, new golf sets that have some of each of the above type of golf clubs are expensive. If you’re advanced player and know your preferences, you can purchase the clubs individually as per your need and make your own set. But for beginners, a set, despite being expensive is the best option.